Victoria Mania

Have you caught Victoria Mania like I have? I am loving the Masterpiece series…

It is so much fun to be watching young Victoria as she goes from a somewhat neglected teenager to become the most powerful woman in the world! Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria is perfectly cast in my opinion. The series opens as she becomes Queen and will follow her through her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. I can already tell that it will leave me wanting more!

Which is probably why I went in search of more already and have immensely enjoyed reading the book Victoria by Daisy Goodwin upon which the series is based…

When I finished that I moved on to the series’ official companion…

Queen Victoria’s journal and letters are used to paint the picture of this great Monarch. It’s so interesting to see how the series so closely follows actual events. I’m listening to this one as an audio book but will probably be getting a hard copy also.

I’m so excited for this week’s episode as Prince Albert enters the narrative…

Since photography was in its infancy there aren’t any photographs of Victoria prior to her marriage…

( which is probably part of the reason that she is usually pictured as an “old lady in a bonnet”)…

17th July 1893: Under a canopy Queen Victoria writes letters at a table piled with despatch boxes. Her Indian servant stands holding her walking stick and waiting for orders. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Victoria’s extensive writings are pulled together by Helen Rappaport in this delightful book and the forward is by Daisy Goodwin. On the audio version Ms. Goodwin reads the introduction. Another thing I like about listening to this is that the actors from the series are introduced at intervals and read the portions relating to their characters. You also lear much about the family drama and court scandals that occurred during her reign and even enjoy hearing about the running of the household and what I it would have been like to have lived in the Victorian era…

Of course I love that her most constant companion, Dash, plays a lead role in the show…